


Halcyon Days Diaries

by Fruit_Punch



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Honorshipping, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-01
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-17 15:35:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5876326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fruit_Punch/pseuds/Fruit_Punch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Falkner begins his new career as a Pokemon Gym Leader despite his deep seated fears of inadequacy. He's taken under the wing of veteran Gym Leader Morty of Ecruteak, but their relationship has a very rocky start and Falkner is in no hurry to fix it. But over time he begins to form a mutual understanding and comradery with the other boy as they continue to work together. Honorshipping</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Filling These Familiar Shoes

Halcyon Days Diaries  
Written by Fruit Punch  
A Pokémon Fanfiction featuring Falkner and Morty  
January 2016 – Present

Arc 01: Courtship  
Chapter 01: Filling These Familiar Shoes  
Rating: PG-13  
Warnings: Alluded NSFW mentionings

In this world, there are mystical beings known to us as Pokémon. These Pokémon can bring joy, purpose, and love into a person's life, becoming life-long friends and partners; and can do quite amazing things for their masters. Over centuries and even millennia, as far back as written history goes, humans and Pokémon have been inexplicably drawn to each other. The past few decades, especially, Pokémon training has become an even bigger fad than anyone had predicted. No—it has become an irrevocable aspect of people's lives all around the world, in every country, region, and town. Thus, the Pokémon League, a body of elite trainers given the power to regulate over Pokémon-related events, has gained immense power and influence in today's society. In each region are eight Pokémon Gyms, scattered around various towns and cities within the area. These places are dedicated to the battling of Pokémon between trainers of all walks of life. Each of these eight gyms are entrusted to a single trainer, that person becoming the gym leader. They devote their entire life to testing the trainers that choose to challenge them, giving victorious trainers badges to eternally attest to their strength, intelligence, and love for their Pokémon, as well as becoming irreplaceable prominent public figures dedicated to helping their cities improve as a whole. This is the reason that the Pokémon League exists.

When a successful gym exists and thrives for as long as Violet City's flying-type gym does, it becomes the focal point, the quiet town's pride and joy. Therefore, when a leader retires, the brief period between ownership of the gym is an understandably devastating and sorrowful time. Normally the passing of the torch of leadership is a relatively quick ordeal, but due to…unusual circumstances surrounding the former gym leader's retirement, Violet City had remained without a gym leader for a significant amount of time. But finally, after over a year of inactivity and silence, Violet City was finally ready to reclaim its position among the Pokémon League as one of the eight Johto League Pokémon Gyms.

Early in the sleepy morning, a blue haired boy walked up to the entrance of the Violet City gym. Rummaging tiredly around in his pocket, he retrieved a ring of keys and selected one, sliding it into the lock of the door. With a click, the door opened, and dim sunlight began to shine into the forgotten building, illuminating the young boy in light, casting a shadow over his figure in contrast.

Taking a deep breath, Falkner raised his head and slowly shuffled into the gym, which was both a very familiar friend and yet still an intimidating presence. The air smelled familiar and brought back so many memories, both good and bad. It also had a slightly dusty and discarded scent to it, mixing with the memories, reminding the somber boy that the memories were indeed a thing of the past. The windows were covered by tarps, which only let in small amounts of light in between the folds and edges of the cloth, creating small sunbeams that illuminated the dancing dust particles in the room. Falkner turned and closed the door, it shutting with a solid noise that echoed in the quiet building. As he wandered deeper into the gym, his footsteps created loud echoes as well, resounding with every step, both reminding the boy of how large the building was and, in contrast, how small and alone Falkner was in it. Reaching one of the many large glass windows that covered the building's walls more so than the actual brick and mortar did, he grasped the rough fabric of the thick window coverings and gave it a quick, firm yank, causing the tarp to fall and the rapidly rising sun to suddenly light up the room. After repeating this process with most of many formerly covered windows, the now brightly lit main room looked much more inviting. Falkner began his check of all the electronic systems and lights, the furniture and walls, and the traps set for the challengers. It was more routine than necessity, as he had made sure to meticulously clean and maintain the building every few days for the past few months in preparation for its reopening, ever since he had accepted the request to be the new gym leader.

Rubbing his finger along the very slightly dusty surface of a nearby table, Falkner sighed deeply and loudly. He did not feel the least bit prepared or qualified for this job. Of course he had passed all of the exams in the top percentile, and he had filled out all the necessary paperwork and permits. Every T was crossed and every I was dotted in accordance to Falkner's very precise work ethic, but that still didn't help him feel more at ease. The insecurity lied in an issue that could never be solved simply by hard work and preparation, and that was the problem. The real issue that worried Falkner so much was that no matter what he did or how hard he tried, Falkner could never be his father. Not in a matter of skill or determination, not even whether he could handle running the gym itself, though that was also a large concern. Falkner knew fully well that no matter how much encouragement and support people gave him, because he is both the successor to the gym and his father's oldest child, people were going to make comparisons. And that terrified the boy, the thought of letting people down because they were expecting something he could never be, a deficit that wasn't simply a matter of ability or effort, but a matter of who Falkner was as a fundamental being and could never change.

Reaching the back of the gym's main room, Falkner climbed a ladder that lead to a second floor, which was mainly rafters and open areas to allow room for the many bird Pokémon to nest and live, as well as a back office and living quarters. Some of the Pokémon were housed in Pokéballs in a container in the office as well, while others were currently roosting near the ceiling. Still being early, most of them were still asleep, as Falkner had made sure to be quiet as not to wake them, and the rafters still were fairly dark, their windows and openings still being covered up. However one large bird was stirring, aware of Falkner's presence. Seeing Falkner, a large Pidgeot brightened up and flew over to the boy, nuzzling lovingly against his body.

"Good morning, Pidgeot." Falkner cooed softly, petting the Pokémon's soft, well-preened plumage. "Did you sleep well? Sorry if I woke you up."

Pidgeot was always his father's most beloved Pokémon and closest companion. Falkner had been worried that, like the people of Violet City, his father's Pokémon would have a hard time adjusting to him as well. Sure, they all knew him very well from playing with Falkner as a child, but being a playmate and being their trainer were two similar, yet very different things. But the Pokémon had seemingly accepted him as their new master very easily, and the fact they loved Falkner so openly and freely was extremely comforting to the boy.

Stroking Pidgeot's head, Falkner turned and walked over to the nearby desk, his Pokémon following him closely behind. Reaching into his pocket, Falkner grabbed some birdseed and held it up to the bird. Accepting the offering, the Pidgeot began happily eating as Falkner started sifting through paperwork which covered the neat, but very cluttered desk. Again deciding that everything was in order, Falkner formed a stack with the papers in his hands, tapping their edge against the surface in order to align them, and filed them away. Also on the desk was a small calendar, with today's date highlighted and the words "Gym Leader Meeting" written in red bolded letters. Falkner nodded to himself and picked up a small bag from the nearby chair, looking inside to make sure everything he had packed the day before was still inside. Satisfied, he slung it over his shoulder. Today was Falkner's first official day of being a gym leader. Although his duties didn't formally start until next week when the gym reopened, he had his first of the quarterly Pokémon League meetings today, where all eight gym leaders gathered in one of the many cities in Johto and discussed the upcoming matters of the next three months. The location rotated between cities, and this time it was in Ecruteak City, the large rustic settlement to the northwest of Violet. It had actually been quite a while since Falkner had seen any of the other gym leaders; several years, in fact. He had heard that his gym was not the only one to have changed hands lately, but he couldn't remember what other city was having a new leader as well. He couldn't even remember the faces of most of the leaders, he only ever saw them when he accompanied his father to these type of things, which wasn't too often. And as a child, he wasn't terribly interested in the adult matters of running a gym. Falkner sighed. He really should have researched the other leaders a bit before going, but he had been too busy obsessing over his own gym and ran out of time.

Oh well, things will hopefully work out for the best, he thought. Whether Falkner believed it or not, he had to at least attempt to make that his mantra in order to keep calm with all of these new and unfamiliar dealings. The boy took a deep breath to try to quell his racing mind.

Falkner felt a nudge on his shoulder and turned to see his Pidgeot's head laying on him, its eyes looking at his with concern.

"It's alright, Pidgeot, I'll be fine" Falkner smiled, patting the bird lovingly. His Pokémon, especially Pidgeot, always seemed to be fairly in tune with Falkner's general state of mind and usually calmed him down pretty well, which was a very big help to the otherwise high-strung teen. The Pokémon clicked reassuringly in reply, nuzzling against Falkner's blue hair. It caused Falkner's line of sight to move to the clock. It was about time to go.

Stopping at one last place before leaving the gym, Falkner moved to a gold-plated glass case. It stood out from the otherwise wooden and brick building, which had a rather traditional feel. Inside the case were the other Pokémon's Pokéballs, both the ones currently in use and the ones for the other Pokémon still slumbering in the rafters. Falkner hesitated, but decided that since this was just a routine meeting, he wouldn't need any Pokémon other than his Pidgeot, so he left the case undisturbed. On top of the case were several pictures, photos of the various flying-type Pokémon with Falkner's father, as well as some with the whole family. Falkner picked up one in particular, a picture from several years ago, back when his father only had patches of gray hair and when he loved to wear that black sweater that always got so quickly covered in feathers or straw. His father had such energy and intensity in his eyes, and his laugh was loud and boisterous, and it was infectious as it filled the room. The man was a one of a kind, and Falkner loved him dearly. Tilting the picture frame, Falkner saw his own reflection, his blue hair parted to cover his one eye. His father always found his bangs to be a bit excessive, but he never once tried to talk Falkner out of the length. His own blue eye was full of life and energy, but he didn't recognize the same energy and security his father had. Would Falkner really be okay? Falkner watched his reflection as his eyes began to grow wet, and he quickly wiped the tears away before they formed.

Yes. Falkner would be okay. He could do this. He HAD to do this. Whether Falkner felt ready or not to follow in his beloved father's footsteps, life was moving on and he had to move along as well. And he refused to be a shame to his father's name. Falkner would do all in his power to continue the Violet City legacy, and he WILL succeed, he told himself. Putting the photo back down on the glass case, Falkner beckoned to his Pidgeot and descended to the main floor and left the gym, closing the door with just as solid of a thud as when he entered. Locking the door again, he looked up into the sky, the sun now having risen into a beautiful blue sky. Reaching his hand up into the sky as if to grasp the wispy clouds, Falkner smiled. He could do this.

"Alright Pidgeot," Falkner said, addressing his eagerly waiting partner. "Are you ready to get started on our first day of work?"

The bird cried out in agreement, and bent down, readying itself for its passenger. Carefully yet confidently, Falkner climbed onto its massive back, hugging the downy plumage that covered the strong, muscular bird. He closed his eyes and inhaled the reassuring scent of his Pidgeot, holding the Pokémon tightly.

"Well then," Falkner said, opening his eyes and staring determinedly into the sky. "Let's get going to Ecruteak!"

And with that, Pidgeot lifted its powerful wings and took off, soaring high in the sky towards Ecruteak City.

* * *

A man looked up as the Pidgeot and its trainer descended to the ground, though to most of the passerby it was largely ignored as they went about their daily lives. Planting its feet firmly on the cobblestone on the ground beneath, Pidgeot let out one final flap of its mighty wings before pressing them back up against its body. Swinging his leg around the bird Pokémon's large body, Falkner jumped to the ground, surveying his surroundings. He was in Ecruteak City, one of Johto's oldest cities, and it's second third largest. Despite having all the modern conveniences technology has to offer, the city also maintained its ancient somber atmosphere, which was a prime location for tourists and history fans alike. While Violet had pieces of its older history still in place, it was nothing compared to the size or reach of Ecruteak's setting. Off in the distance, both the Bell Tower and the Brass Tower loomed ominously. Falkner had always wanted to go to the Bell Tower as a child, but it was off limits to most people, so he never had. And even if it wasn't, Falkner hadn't even been to Ecruteak in years, when he came with his father. The Gym Leader Aptitude Tests were held in a different location, so the city was almost as vague of a memory as the other gym leaders that he forgot to look up beforehand. Falkner paused, thinking. Was it only the one other gym that had changed hands, or had others changed? He was really out of the loop when it came to the names and faces of who was in charge of the various cities, and Falkner was beginning to worry if that was going to be a problem. Falkner would have to just not call anyone by name until he heard other people address them. It frustrated him to be so ill prepared, but it was too late to change that now. He hoped he wouldn't be the only teenager there. Calling to his Pidgeot, he began walking towards the Johto Pokémon League building, which was located on the side of town near the Ecruteak City gym.

"Ah! It's been a while, Falkner! How's the mother doing?"

"Man! The last time I saw you must've been six years ago! You're growing like a weed."

"Finally stepping up to fill the old man's shoes, I see. Good for you."

Falkner walked through the doors of the building and was assaulted with comments, all coming from faces he didn't know and names he didn't recognize. Some of them he thought he remembered, but it wasn't like he knew them too well other than an acknowledgement of their existence. Keeping his head bowed, Falkner responded to everyone quickly and politely. He didn't like large social settings like this, they made him uncomfortable. Too many faces, too many voices, all ricocheting off one another and amplifying into inane drivel, saying kind but superfluous greetings as they assumed things about Falkner that the boy didn't have the energy or means to dispute. It would have been somewhat better if Falkner had at least one or two people that he knew well and could latch onto during the conversation, but that was not the case. Though he knew some of the people, he didn't feel comfortable talking with any of them for too extended of a period. Falkner's initial plan had been to slip into the building as relatively unnoticed as possible, but that plan had fallen apart once he had been recognized by a few rather loud former friends of his father's. He had really wanted to avoid talk of his father as well, but clearly that was not an option either. Surely enough, the comments started pouring in about Falkner taking up the family business, and comparisons and expectations were quickly verbalized. Although the intentions of the speakers may have been harmless, that didn't prevent all of Falkner's fear of failing and issues of self-worth from surfacing. Outwardly, Falkner played the charming, albeit quiet son of his father's, answering all of the questions and producing small talk. But it was all an act, all rehearsed nonsense that he wanted to get as far away from as possible.

Finally, Falkner made it into the meeting room for the gym leaders. Standing in the doorway, he saw that he was one of the last members to arrive, as five of the eight seats were already taken by the other gym leaders. Scanning the room, Falkner studied the other gym leaders as they likewise studied him. The boy was right, there weren't many faces he recognized, but there were a few he felt like he should know. Falkner was also relieved to see that he was not the only kid there, there were two other gym leaders who appeared to be in their late teens, maybe a few years older than he was. Falkner eyed two empty chairs, both closest to the door. Strategically taking the one second closest to the door, as to be in a place easy to escape from but still close enough to be involved in conversation if necessary, Falkner attempted to slide into it quietly, only to yelp as he felt movement coming from under his rear. Looking down, Falkner gaped in surprise to see that the chair he was attempting to sit in was already occupied by a small purple haired child. Stammering apologies, Falkner moved to the other empty empty chair beside that one, this time checking to make sure it was empty.

Correction, SIX of the eight seats had already been taken, Falkner thought as he tried to avoid turning red at the sound of quiet chuckling.

* * *

The meeting actually began with only seven of the eight gym leaders, much to Falkner's surprise. Falkner was under the assumption that all eight gym leader positions were filled, but maybe he was wrong to think that? Grimacing bitterly, Falkner again cursed the lack of preparation and studying he had done before this meeting, despite working as hard as he could to make sure he had everything covered. He had gone over everything so many times, how could he forget something as simple as checking up on the other gym leaders? Wasn't that one of the first things to do once you get the basics of your own gym under control? As the meeting progressed, Falkner attempted to rectify his lack of information by studying the other gym leaders as much as he could. Looking from person to person, Falkner first focused on the man two seats down from him. He was a loud, rather large man who took up a lot of space both physically and verbally. He was middle aged and beginning to bald slightly, but had a large mustache that extended beyond the edges of his face. His hair was sloppily slicked back, with it sticking up in the back. Falkner couldn't put his finger on the man's name or what gym he ran, but Falkner knew that the man used to be good friends with his father. He was probably…a fighting type gym leader? Wasn't that Cianwood's gym type? Falkner was pretty sure about that. Beside the loud man from Cianwood was the purple haired kid that Falkner nearly sat on. He was very young, and couldn't be out of grade school. His lilac hair loosely framed his face and didn't quite reach his shoulders. He was very talkative and knowledgeable for a kid as young as himself, albeit having somewhat of a short attention span. At first Falkner was very surprised to see such a young boy be a gym leader, but the boy was intelligent. He carried a large bug catching net so Falkner deduced that the boy was in charge of the bug-type gym in Azalea Town. Falkner had heard that the gym had a young leader but he never assumed that the boy was that much younger than himself. Pryce, oh boy, Falkner remembered Pryce. The old man was the leader of Mahogany Town's ice-type gym, and he was sitting one seat from the opposite end of the other side of the table as Falkner. He always seemed quaint and quiet, with his eyelids lowered into nearly closed slits, and a soft slight smile on his face. But Falkner remembered the time about two years ago when Pryce accidentally nearly turned Falkner into an icicle when he and his father were visiting Mahogany Town, and the teen stayed away from him. Pryce didn't seem to remember the event, and upon noticing Falkner staring at him, he smiled a little more and waved silently. He wasn't a bad man, just a seemingly oblivious one at times. Still, Falkner kept his distance. Beside Pryce was a woman just as loud as the man from Cianwood. Not just loud when speaking, her outfit was also very loud. Skintight and bold, as well as having a large flowing cape, Falkner didn't know many people willing to try to pull an outfit like that off in public. She also seemed very quick tempered and potentially violent, and Falkner decided to deal with her with caution. But no matter how much she yelled at the man from Cianwood, Pryce, who sat beside her, stayed quiet and unfazed. Falkner wasn't sure how the man managed that.

The two gym leaders who weren't much older than Falkner sat beside each other, at the side of the table facing Falkner. One boy and one girl, they both eyed the occasional conflict going on with very different attitudes. The girl was very plainly dressed and had long brown hair. She was very pretty and although she dressed plainly, it looked good on her. She seemed very upset by the conflict, but not upset enough to do anything about it other than gaze on with an uncomfortable anguish. The boy, however, seemed moderately amused by it and smirked. He sat very comfortably and confidently, but no matter how much Falkner stared at him, he couldn't get a good grasp on the older boy. Feeling Falkner stare, he looked and nodded with a sly smile, the type that made Falkner uncomfortable upon receiving, though he couldn't quite figure out why. Trying to push it out of his mind, Falkner decided to look away and focus on the only other person in the room he hadn't examined yet, the facilitator of the meeting, who was not a leader nor anyone special other than an overseer for the League who was based in Ecruteak. His name was Koji and he was a pleasant and amiable man, able to handle the vastly varying personalities and skill sets of the Johto gym leaders so he was clearly a skilled man in his own right.

The meeting was fairly uneventful. They went over various statistics, figures, and estimates. Koji introduced Falkner to the group, who stood up awkwardly and gave an improvised speech he wasn't aware that he was going to have to give. It went well enough, but it just added to the things Falkner felt he was unprepared for. Falkner kept feeling the older boy stare at him, but whenever Falkner looked back or tried to silently address the boy, he only smirked and turned away. It frustrated Falkner, and he glared at the blonde boy irritated. Was something wrong with his shirt? Was his hair a mess? Did he have something on his face? Or was Falkner's existence in this meeting just so amusing to the older boy? It was making Falkner uncomfortable and antsy. He tried extremely hard to focus instead on the meeting at hand like a responsible gym leader, but this boy was making it difficult to do.

Finally the meeting was adjourned. Falkner shot up out of his chair, ready to leave and forego all social contact for the remainder of the day. He was glad that he managed to snag the chair closest to the exit, maybe he could sneak out the door before the others grabbed him for long unnecessary pleasantries.

But as Falkner attempted to move towards the door, suddenly a loud rumble began to emanate from down the hall, slightly shaking the room. Falkner recoiled away from the door, but not soon enough, as the door was slammed open, crashing right into the bird trainer's face, causing him to fall backwards onto the ground with a loud bang. In came a young girl in her teens, ragged and out of breath, yet simultaneously peppy and full of energy.

"OHMYGOSH IM SOOOOOOOO SORRY IM LATE!" the girl said, bouncing into the room energetically, addressing the entire group other than Falkner, who lay on the ground apparently unnoticed. "I was busy readying things at the gym in Goldenrod, and I completely lost track of time!"

Falkner groaned and rolled over on the ground, in order to get a better look at his accidental attacker. She was a small-framed girl in her mid-teens, wearing a colorful outfit of pink, blue, and white, highlighted by the dark pink trim on her shirt and wristband, which matched the slightly lighter pink of her hair. She wore striped socks that went almost up to her knees, and had her enthusiastically pink hair pulled back into pigtails. Everything about the girl screamed pep and happiness. And pink. Lots of pink.

"My name's Whitney!" The girl continued, waving heartily at the contrastingly quiet crowd, which was mainly filled with surprised eyes, confused murmurs, and, noticeably, a few smirks and chuckles from select audience members. "I just turned 15 recently and I'm the new gym leader of the Goldenrod Pokémon gym! It's nice to meet you!"

The room stood in moderate silence for a moment, as the other participants processed the young girl's…dynamic entrance. Falkner inched towards the wall and used it to pull himself up slowly and as discreetly as possible. So much for a quick and stealthy exit. But maybe he could still sneak out, relatively unscathed. So THIS was the other gym leader? Her? This rude, crazy, unthinking…this…this obnoxiously Pink Haired Wonder? Jeez, why were all of the gym leaders so insane and colorful? First Pryce accidentally nearly killing Falkner years ago, then the annoyingly loud heavyset man, followed by the scary looking caped lady, and now this surprisingly strong neon pallet girl? With a group of coworkers as hard to handle as this, Falkner was back to wondering if he could handle this gym leader job after all…

"Oh, hello there Whitney" Koji finally managed to break the silence, collecting his thoughts and attempting to regain order over his nearly adjourned meeting. "The meeting was just about over, but if you could please stay after, I'll go over the things you missed and catch you up to speed."

"Oh, sure!" Whitney agreed, skipping over to the man upon being beckoned. "Anything I can do to make up for being late! I'm so sorry about that!"

Koji and Whitney began exchanging notes, with the older man speaking kindly and concisely, and Whitney nodding fervently to everything he said. Order quickly reappeared in the meeting room and the rest of the gym leaders began to remove themselves from their seats at their leisure, chatting amongst one another. Falkner made eye contact with most of the other gym leaders, but most could read the mood of the boy and decided not to say more than a word or a nod. When Falkner's gaze landed upon the still sitting older teenage boy, the blonde again just smirked and waved. Falkner shot him a look of irritation, but decided to make his way to the door again and save what little grace he still had and exit.

But as Falkner reached the door, another rumble was heard and felt throughout the building. Even quicker than the first time, another figure, this time a rather large and emotional Miltank, careened through the open door and collided with Falkner, this time sending the boy further into the opposite direction as before, and the battered boy hit an object behind him with another solid thud. Hearing the sound, Whitney turned around in surprise and joy and sprinted over to the runaway cow Pokemon, who also stumbled into her arms for a large, clumsy hug.

"Oh Miltank! I'm so glad you found me!" Whitney smiled cheerfully, stroking the head of the joyful Pokémon, who was moved to near tears upon their reunion. "I'm sorry I couldn't wait for you when you fell behind, but I was running so late! I knew you'd be able to find me, though!"

Grumpily watching the strangely emotional reunification of strange Pokémon and stranger trainer, Falkner groped behind him for an aid for which to clamor to his feet. Finding something, he pressed down hard to push himself into a standing position point. But he stopped halfway upon hearing an uncomfortable grunt, followed by pained laughter.

"Wow, you sure are a feisty one, aren't you?"

Falkner looked up to see that he had ran into the still-seated older boy and his chair. Despite his expression of amused discomfort, he still seemed in no hurry to get up. Freezing in horror, Falkner's hand twitched. He was pressing down on something soft. His panicked blue eyes turned to look at his shoulder, and traveled down his arm to rest on exactly what was in his hand. Falkner yelped when he saw that he had been attempting to steady himself squarely on the guy's crotch. With a shriek, the embarrassed boy retracted his hand.

"Hey, I didn't really mind your hand there, especially considering how enthusiastic you seemed about it." He snickered.

"No…it's not, I just…I-I!" Falkner tried to stammer out, but words weren't quite managing to come together in the poor boy's mind.

"I mean I normally like to be taken out to dinner first at least, but I guess I can make an exception."

Falkner's mouth dropped when he saw the older boy's hands move down to his pants and motioned as if he was beginning to unbutton them. He…was he really? Was he taking off his clothes? Falkner was not about to stick around and find out what kind of creepy exhibitionist stuff this freak was into. He quickly turned around to get up and bolt out the door, but was stopped as his eyes met a floating, menacing smile.

"Gastly…" the ghost Pokémon sneered, with a smirk incredibly reminiscent of the boy's behind him. Oh god. This had to be his Pokemon. So that meant that this was the gym leader of Ecruteak. Ghosts. Why did it have to be ghosts? Ghosts terrified Falkner. The bird trainer froze in place, only to be nudged back downward by the grinning Gastly. Falkner's fell back down, headfirst into the guy's lap, only for him to be greeted by something firm and rod-shaped pushing against his cheek. Oh…oh god…did he really?

Falkner froze for a moment, his mind utterly imploding in horror. His face turned a beet red. Piecing back together his thoughts, the blue haired boy again registered the pressure against his left cheek. Panic hit him, and Falkner jumped out of his seat, screaming.

Only to run into the nearest wall.

Falkner laid on the ground, fading in and out of near consciousness. As all eyes fell on him, Falkner began processing and replaying the last hour. And one thing was blatantly clear to him.

His first official meeting with the Johto Pokémon League did not exactly go as well as planned.

And that was a gargantuan understatement.

Arc 01: Courtship

End of Chapter 01: Filling These Familiar Shoes


	2. Kiss and Make Up...or Not

Halcyon Days Diaries  
Written by Fruit_Punch  
A Pokémon Fanfiction featuring Falkner and Morty  
January 2016 – Present

Arc 01: Courtship  
Chapter 02: Kiss and Make Up…or Not…  
Rating: PG-13  
Warnings: References to NSFW acts

First impressions are often a very important aspect of communication. While people should know better than to set in stone their feelings about someone after a sole interaction, entrances and introductions into a new setting or group should undoubtedly portray a side the person wants to show to the new people, as they form the general feelings and assumptions that crowd will have of you. Different people treat this matter differently. Some get their hope up unrealistically high, attempting to dazzle and enthrall their cohorts. Others attempt to show something they're not. And still others try to downplay themselves as much as possible in order to not stand out. And while it is not healthy or intelligent to attempt to be someone that you're not, it is understandable that most people begin by trying to set their best foot forward, picking and choosing the better parts of themselves to showcase. While all experiences differ, this is the general truth of new situations.

And Falkner…had just made a gigantic fool of himself in front of a group of highly respected and talented people. People that were supposed to be his new coworkers, as well as by proxy relatively his equals. Falkner had spent so long deliberating and stressing over how to present himself on his first day and not even his worst fears included so much slapstick buffoonery. Falkner knew not to expect things to go perfectly, but the boy was at least hoping to not make a complete fool of himself in front of everyone. But, sadly, that was exactly what he had done. Falkner wanted to cry. He wanted to crawl into a hole and die, to disappear and never return. But for now he settled for sulking under a tree in the city park of Ecruteak, sitting on the ground with his legs pulled against his torso and his head buried into his knees.

"God damn it…" Falkner moaned in anguish. His Pidgeot was standing over him worriedly, giving concerned quiet chirps and preening the blue hair on the boy's head. But Falkner ignored all signs of affection from the concerned Pokémon, he was too upset. Eventually the large bird gave up and just laid its head on its trainer's shoulder, closing its eyes and deciding to wait out its moody trainer's self-inflicted timeout.

Falkner just wanted to disappear. Not forever, but maybe for a week. Or a month. Or whenever he could believe everyone had forgotten about his horrendous display of clumsy bad luck. Unfortunately that wasn't an option he had, even when he was alone with his thoughts, and the Violet City leader kept replaying the events of the meeting over and over in his head, cursing himself and getting angrier every time. It was like a bad comedy routine, one Falkner never wanted to be a part of. He had gotten laughably knocked around not once, but twice by both that Pink Haired Wonder and her Pokémon. And the second time he had fallen right onto that guy's lap! That…that perverted ASSHOLE. Had he really unzipped his pants and pulled out his penis in a crowded room? And used his creepy ghost Pokémon to push Falkner back down on it? Is someone with such exhibitionist tendencies really a gym leader?

Okay, so Falkner hadn't actually seen if it was in fact the guy's penis. He was too horrified to look. But it sure felt like something hard and long pressing against his cheek. If not that, then what else was it? Regardless, surprisingly the pervert in the room wasn't the focus of attention in the room since Falkner made such a bumbling fool of himself and collided with the building a third time, but this time on his own when he panicked and ran headfirst into a nearby wall. Falkner winced as he rubbed the spot on his head that had hit the wall the hardest, it was definitely going to form a bump of some type. They had offered to give him medical attention at the meeting, but the boy was so embarrassed and just wanted to leave the entire situation, so he immediately declined. Lightly feeling the forming egg on his scalp, Falkner momentarily worried maybe he had hit hard enough to give himself a concussion. He really hoped not. Maybe he really should have taken the offer to see a doctor. At least it was in a spot that was covered by hair, so the resulting bruise wouldn't be noticeable.

Morty. Falkner had discovered that that was the boy's name, and he did indeed run the Ecruteak Pokémon Gym just as Falkner suspected. The very city that Falkner was now hiding in and pouting dejectedly. At least it didn't seem like anyone had seen him go this way. Not that anyone had a reason to follow him other than curiosity, or maybe more malintent. He had originally tried to go to the Bell Tower to sulk since he had heard such nice things about it, but disappointingly, Falkner was denied access to the premises. Even with his gym leader status, it apparently wasn't enough to grant access to the area. According to the guard, only the gym leader of Ecruteak, the Ecruteak elders, and those that the gym leader had given explicit permission to, either by defeating the leader in battle, or simply gaining his approval. "Why don't you simply ask Morty for permission?" the guard had asked Falkner. "You being a fellow gym leader, I'm sure he would allow it." Yeah right, like Falkner would ever ask Morty for a favor. He never wanted to deal with that blond haired smug asshole again. Logically, that was impossible, since they were both gym leaders. But at least Falkner could avoid him like a petulant child, and be really petty when he did have to deal with him. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. It was in reality a terrible idea and Falkner knew that, but right now Falkner decided it was his strategy of attack, and it sure sounded more pleasing than trying to make up with the guy.

Falkner looked up to the sky and sighed. With a deep inhale, he tried to gather all of his anger and negativity. Holding it deep inside as he held his breath, Falkner then pushed the breath outward, hoping to send all of the dreary thoughts flying away with his exhaled breath. It didn't fix everything, but at least it helped calm him for a moment. His eyes followed the slowly moving clouds, molded into light wisps. They looked so simple and free. Falkner envied them. They lacked any type of restraints or anxieties that were created by human society, and merely followed the nearest gentle breeze. They never had to worry about appearances, or new jobs and environments, or whether or not people approved of their existence. If they felt like raining, they poured it down on the people underneath without a second thought. Nobody blamed the clouds for the rain, nor did they expect anything of them, other than solely to exist. Now that Falkner was nearing adulthood, he was becoming all too aware of the stress of society, of fitting into that mold and being what was called "a productive member of society". No longer could he simply float along while others around him picked up his slack, he now had to earn his own keep and while, in theory, the results were supposedly incredibly rewarding and liberating as you gained independence and success, right now the overwhelmed boy only felt claustrophobic, like he didn't belong and everyone involved knew it. Falkner wanted to quit his new job, and it was only the first day. Maybe the next poor sap would be better at it than he was. Surely they couldn't be any worse at it than Falkner had seemed to be. Falkner had always looked up to his father growing up. He was proud of his father, and aspired to be like him. But now that Falkner was expected to become his father, even though it was exactly what the boy had always assumed he wanted to be, the whole experience left Falkner feeling incredibly scared and unprepared. And lonely. Falkner seemed to blunder at every step he was taking, and he had nobody to talk to about it. His father was gone, and his family, though supportive, most likely expected him to do well. He didn't feel comfortable unloading his fears onto them. Everyone in Violet City expected so much of the boy, and Falkner was beginning to regret ever saying that he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. Falkner didn't feel like was the sort of charismatic and strong person, who could think on his feet and struggle and succeed in everything he did. Despite being "made" for the role of gym leader by being the blood relative of one and growing under his tutelage, Falkner felt broken and misshapen, like he didn't quite fit the mold. He wasn't that ambitious, and what goals he did have were often squandered by his own anxiety and hesitation. The boy did not enjoy being the center of attention, and when he was in a position of power he tended to panic. His personality just seemed to clash with his job demands, and no matter how much he prepared, or how well he did on tests, nothing ever seemed to go right. Just because Falkner was his father's son didn't mean he necessarily had the qualifications to be a figurehead of his town. But it was too late to back out now, Falkner had to at least keep trying to succeed, as scary and painful as it was. But right now all the boy wanted to do was stop doing everything and shut down for a while.

Unfortunately, people seemed to have other plans for him.

"HEY! Are you awake down there?"

Falkner jumped at the sound of the familiar voice. It was the same sugary sweet voice that had barreled into him earlier. The bird trainer yelped and jumped backwards, hitting the back of his head on the tree. Man, his head was really taking a beating today.

"Oh hey, welcome back to Earth!" Rubbing his head, Falkner looked up as the Pink Haired Wonder leaned over him, beaming cheekily. Falkner grimaced and turned his head away from her.

"What do you want?" Falkner replied shortly. Steadying himself with one hand on his knee and the other on his Pidgeot, who had jumped up to his side upon the boy's sudden exclaimation, Falkner rose to his feet slowly.

"Well gosh, you're sure friendly, aren't you?" Whitney retorted in a huff, crossing her arms and cocking her head to the side. Behind her stood her Miltank, and Falkner alternated his irritated glaring from one figure to the other.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" Falkner said, raising both his arms in an exasperated gesture. "After all you are the girl who helped make me look like a complete fool in front of everyone at the gym leader's meeting!"

"Hey, I apologized for that!" Whitney answered defensively.

"You apologized to the mediator, not to me!"

"Well why should I be giving you special treatment?" Whitney asked, raising one of her crossed arms into the air to gesture in frustration and moderate irritation. "You're sure not doing anything to garner my kindness right now!"

"I'm the guy you assaulted!"

"Accidentally!"

"That doesn't change anything!"

Falkner put his head in his hands in frustration, only to quickly wince as he brushed against one of his many head wounds. This girl was so obnoxious, he couldn't stand her. Maybe she was even worse than all of the other crazy gym leaders he had met earlier. What was her problem? Was it so hard to simply apologize? Sure, Falkner was snapping at her pretty quickly, but didn't he have a right to? After all, he was the one that everything reflected poorly on, not her. He was the one who had to live down all of the shame and embarrassment. As the two bickered, their Pokémon stood to the side, concernedly watching the argument but afraid to really get involved or intervene. It continued on like this for a while without making any headway, until both of them began to simmer down and just stood opposite each other in muted irritation. They stood in silence for a moment, until Falkner spoke again.

"So what do you want?" Falkner asked, still annoyed that he had been bothered in the first place.

"What?"

"Why are you here? The meeting is over, shouldn't you have gone back home instead of bothering me?"

"Well I HAD been looking for you to apologize to you." Whitney said, still furrowing her brow in irritation. Attempting to calm herself, she put her hands out towards her Miltank. It instantly walked over to her, and she began petting it while conversing. Closing her eyes and breathing deeply, she paused to collect her thoughts, her hands finding comfort and safety in the soft pink fur of her Pokémon. "But then you got so sassy and it made me mad. So…sorry."

Oh. She did apologize. Falkner guessed he was supposed to calm down now, but he didn't want to. Yet he decided not to agitate her further, and silent acknowledged her statement.

"I really am sorry." Whitney continued. "I was running late and it was my first meeting. I'm brand new to this whole gym leader thing. I was in such a hurry that when my Miltank couldn't keep up with my bike, I had to keep going and assume it would catch up. I felt awful, but I panicked. I just wanted to make a good first impression, and since I was already running late, that option was gone, and I was trying to salvage what little I had left. So I ran in as quick as possible and put on a cheery face."

Okay, so she was worried too? Falkner sure wouldn't have guessed that from her jovial demeanor as she knocked him over. But it did make sense, and Falkner of all people understood how people did stupid things when they panicked.

"After the meeting ended, they told me that you were also a new gym leader." Whitney said, moving her line of sight downward sheepishly. "And I felt really, really bad. Because you were probably just as nervous as I was. And I kinda made you look really silly, and you didn't deserve any of that. So…I really am really, really sorry."

Falkner just stood there in silence as her last words hit him. She genuinely did feel bad for him and regretted what she did. Maybe…maybe she wasn't as bad as Falkner had made her out to be. Sure, she was still clumsy and reckless and Falkner still had suffered for it, but…perhaps she wasn't a bad person though.

"I…I did apologize to the whole group though." Whitney finally continued, raising her head up to look at Falkner again. "You left so quickly that I couldn't say sorry to you there, but I did ask all of the people to not think badly of you, and that it was my fault that all of it happened, and I'm sure you didn't mean for any of that to happen, and if anyone should be punished for it, it should be me, and also I-"

"Thank you." Falkner said, interrupting Whitney. He had heard enough to forgive her. She had worked hard to make it up to him, and really he understood how mistakes like that had could happen. Her genuineness and kindness had diffused Falkner's attitude, and a smile slowly began to form on his face. "Thank you."

"Oh!" Whitney almost sounded surprised at the reply. "No, it's no problem. I…I ruined your big day! I made you look silly and…I'm sure that you're not like that at all!"

"Actually," Falkner chuckled. "Sometimes I'd say I really don't need anyone's help making me look like a fool." Whitney laughed too.

"I'd say we're both that way sometimes, then" she smiled, sniffling lightly.

"Yeah."

"Thank you for listening to me." Whitney said. "I know I made you mad, and I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier."

"No," Falkner replied quickly. "I really shouldn't have been so rude either. So I apologize for that."

"We're just sorry for a lot, aren't we?" Whitney smirked.

"Yeah, we're both a sorry bunch."

Both of the teens laughed, and afterwards sighed deeply, feeling comforted. They went back to silence for a moment, smiling at each other with looks of relief.

"Can I…give you a hug?" Whitney asked after a moment.

"What?"

"Well I mean, you don't have to if you don't want to," Whitney said dismissively. "I know it must seem weird, some strange girl runs you over, fights with you, apologizes, and then wants a hug."

Falkner couldn't argue with that. This girl…was indeed strange. He was right, like the other leaders, she was a unique character. She had caused him a lot of headache, both literally and figuratively. But right now he watched her fidget embarrassedly, trying to come off as friendly, but not too friendly where it would be invasive. Normally Falkner was not exactly the physical type unless he was close to the person, and was grateful that she had asked, rather than simply grabbed him. But he decided that there was no harm in a simple hug.

"It's fine," Falkner said, putting his arms forward and slightly outstretched. Whitney's face lit up, and she ran over to him, holding him in a tight, energetic embrace. Falkner sighed with a smile, returning the hug but not nearly with the force she had. Closing his eyes, he felt content and calmed. Sure, today had been awful. But maybe things weren't as bad as he assumed. Falkner always was one to panic and exaggerate the scale of problems. He could probably fix everything, if he searched to find the courage that it had taken this girl to apologize to the whole group and admit her wrongdoings to Falkner so sincerely. For once, Falkner was pleased to find he was wrong about something. The Pink Haired Wonder turned out to be not so terrible after all. Finding comfort in the firm friendship of her embrace, Falkner closed his eyes and enjoyed the hug for a few small moments.

Suddenly Falkner heard the sound of a single person clapping loudly and firmly. His eyes shot open to see the Ecruteak gym leader leaning up against a tree applauding the scene with a smile.

"I'm so happy for the both of you, good job." Morty said, beginning to walk toward the duo.

Falkner immediately relinquished his embrace and his body became tense and rigid. Fuck. This guy. The last person Falkner wanted to see. What the hell was he even doing here?

"Oh, hi Morty!" Whitney said happily, waving and turning around to greet the older boy. Wait, they knew each other?

"What're you doing here?" Falkner yelled in surprise.

"Well, I do live here." Morty said flatly.

"No, no no." Falkner put his hands up defensively, using one to point at the blonde. "Why are you here? In this park? Watching us?"

"Oh, Falkner." Whitney turned back to the boy and said. "He's the one who told me I could probably find you here! I didn't know if he was going to follow me or not though."

Wait, she talked to him about it? How did Morty even know where Falkner was? Did someone at the Bell Tower tell him? But why would he be asking around for Falkner anyway? What was going on?

Morty walked up to the group nonchalantly, and Whitney moved to give him room.

"Falkner, since I kinda ruined introductions, this is Morty, the gym leader of Ecruteak." Whitney beamed, either oblivious to Falkner's surprise and irritation or actively choosing to ignore it.

"Yo." Morty put out his hand to give Falkner a handshake. Falkner flinched.

"Get away from me you pervert!" Falkner snapped, moving backwards. What was this creep doing, just walking up to him and acting all casual after the stunt he pulled at the meeting? What was Whitney doing, forgetting what happened? Surely everyone had to see Morty did something, with his pants most likely around his ankles in public, like Falkner assumed they had been.

"Hey, hey." Morty clicked his tongue in objection. "I'm a lot of things, but a pervert isn't one of them. At least not unless I have a good enough reason to be."

"Don't give me that crap!"

"I mean," Morty lowered his eyes to Falkner's retracted hand and raised an eyebrow. "If we're going to be calling each other perverts, I don't think you have any room to talk. I seem to remember you being pretty…handsy at the meeting."

"I-I! It…It was…" Falkner flushed a deep shade of red, unable to retort to that. "It was an accident! Besides, you were the one who pulled out your dick in public, pervert!"

"What?" Morty replied,

"Falkner what are you talking about?" Whitney asked in confusion.

"How did you not see that?" Falkner exclaimed at the girl. "He pushed me back down with his Gastly, and I landed right on his bare penis! He took off his damn pants in the room, you had to see something!"

"Falkner that's not what happened." Whitney said.

"What do you mean, that's not what happened? I FELT IT ON MY FACE!"

As Falkner was turned to face Whitney, suddenly he felt the same pole-shaped pressure on his cheek again. He shrieked and turned towards Morty, backing up in horror. But what he saw wasn't Morty's exposed penis. Instead there was a Lampent, attempting to nuzzle against Falkner's face. Falkner yelled again.

"I think you felt this." Morty said with a smile. He grabbed his Lampent by both hands and brought it to Falkner's face, ignoring the boy's screaming protests. Suddenly Falkner began feeling the same pressure as earlier. He looked to see Morty had tilted the Pokémon's head, and was rubbing the dulled horn on its head on Falkner's cheek. Falkner screeched and recoiled, partially out of shock of the ghost Pokémon, and also out of confusion.

"WHAAAAATTTTTT?" Falkner continued to holler. He stopped and began panting heavily from the yelling, and also his general fear of ghosts.

"This is my Lampent." Morty said, letting go of the small Pokémon, which was surprisingly unfazed by the younger boy's loud reactions, and began happily nuzzling against Morty's cheek. "This is what you felt at the meeting."

"What the hell?" Falkner shouted.

"It's affectionate, and tends to like almost everyone around it." Morty sighed, rubbing the Pokemon's face in return and ignoring Falkner's indignation. "I guess it's fond of you too."

"WHY WAS IT ON YOUR CROTCH AT THE MEETING?"

"It's spontaneous?" Morty shrugged. "And…I let it out as a joke to surprise you?"

"GODFUCKINGDAMNITIMGOINGTOKILLYOU!" Falkner flailed his arms and lunged at the smug boy, knocking him to the ground. Morty hit the ground with a solid blow, briefly knocking the wind out of the older teen. The ghost trainer quickly put his arms up over his face as Falkner pulled back his arm and readied himself for a punch. Before he could land the hit, Whitney had jumped into the fray pulled Falkner off of the bigger boy, who still had raised his arms in defense but mainly was reacting with lazy laughter. Whitney grunted and successfully managed to pull the angry Violet City gym leader off of the other, while Falkner squawked indignantly as he continued to attempt to throw himself at his enemy. But Whitney was surprisingly strong and she managed to hold Falkner by the shoulders and plant her feet into the ground, stopping the boy from moving forward. Falkner struggled to come at Morty as the blonde got back to his feet and dusted himself off, but Whitney held on to him surprisingly tight, though she had to exert a lot of effort to keep the boy restrained.

"Falkner, stop it!" Whitney protested, holding Falkner in a makeshift full nelson. Her arms couldn't quite reach the back of his head, but at least she was able to hook her arms around Falkner's shoulders, and that was currently doing a fairly competent job of limiting Falkner's movement. "He apologized to the group too!"

"That doesn't make up for his shit!" Falkner yelled angrily. "His was intentional!"

"I didn't think you'd react that badly." Morty chuckled. He continued to stay on his guard, but it was a very lazy stance, with only his legs giving any indication that the older boy was even still acknowledging that the bird trainer could come flying back at him at any second. "Or that you'd think it was my dick. If you had actually looked you would've seen it wasn't."

"What kind of logic is that? You're still an asshole!" Falkner continued to fight against the arms holding him back, though not as fervently. He was upset that Whitney was continuing to restrain him. Shouldn't she be mad at Morty too? Weren't the two novice leaders on the same side, now that they had made up?

"Yeah, kinda."

"You don't even have an excuse?!" Falkner screeched.

Falkner persisted yelling as he struggled against Whitney's hold, but to no avail. Eventually he grew tired and slowed down, stopping and simply glaring at the older boy. What the hell was wrong with this asshole? Even if Falkner had assumed it was something it wasn't, Morty still was trying to mess with Falkner by pranking him in the middle of the meeting. Was it some type of sick hazing? This guy was an asshole and Falkner hated him. He hated Morty so much. He was also upset that Whitney wasn't jumping to his aid in pummeling the boy, her startling strength would surely give Falkner the edge he needed. Falkner knew that her holding him back didn't necessarily mean that she didn't agree with the boy, she just was trying to keep the peace. While that wasn't a bad effort, it still conflicted with that Falkner was trying to do, which was assault his superior.

Eventually Falkner stopped making noises as Whitney continued to hold him, despite the fact that the manic boy had seemingly ceased his frantic movement. Whitney gave Morty a concerned and tense glance, unsure what to do with the now relatively limp body in her arms. Morty simply shrugged, which didn't help the girl. She looked down at Falkner, who was staring at the ground sulking. Whitney wanted to let the boy go, both because she had finally made up with him and wanted to be friends rather than exasperate him, and also her arms were getting tired. But…Falkner was slowly gaining a track record or unstable and violent moods, and Whitney was also worried of his reaction as soon as he was freed. The girl moaned in hesitation, looking to her Miltank for moral and emotional assistance. It only tilted its head to the side and mooed in confusion, oblivious to the whole conundrum. Whitney put her head down and groaned. Why was life so hard?

"Okay," Falkner grumbled after a while. "You can let me go."

"Are you gonna attack Morty as soon as I let you go?" Whitney asked suspiciously.

"No," Falkner pouted. "I'm better now."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright…" Whitney said hesitantly, but she slowly released her iron grip on the blue haired boy. As his weight shifted upon being freed, Falkner pulled his arms away and rubbed his shoulders. They were a little sore after the tight grip. He gave an annoyed glare to Whitney and them turned to amply it and send it at Morty like a dagger. Morty stayed silent but continued to smirk at Falkner's anger.

"…Do you want to hug and make up?" Morty asked smugly.

"Morty!" Whitney yelled in tired exasperation. The older boy was almost seeming to intentionally try to set Falkner off.

"What? It worked for you two."  
Whitney widened her eyes in an expression of frustrated disbelief. Seizing the opportunity while Whitney was distracted, Falkner stepped over to Morty and punched him in the jaw, causing Morty to fall to his knees. It was a solid hit, but not an all-out attack like the attempt earlier was.

"Falkner!" Whitney exclaimed, moving to restrain him again.

"It's okay, it's okay!" Falkner shouted, putting his hands up before Whitney grabbed ahold of him. "I'm good now. I'm done."

"Ow, that hurts." Morty chuckled in pain, holding his jaw as he was crouched underneath the standing Falkner. Nothing was broken, but it still was sore and most likely going to leave a mark. "Man, you can sure throw a punch."

"Young Master!" A voice called out.

The group turned to see Koji, the mediator from the gym leader's meeting running over to them from the other side of the hill. He moved quickly and frantically, out of breath. Falkner and Whitney quickly instinctively jumped away from Morty as Koji reached them.

"What happened?" he asked with concern, seeing Morty holding his jaw.

"Nothing, Koji, I'm fine." Morty said, pushing the man away when he tried to examine him. "I was just having some laughs with the newbie gym leaders, here. Might've gotten carried away, but it's all good. Ow." Morty winced as a sharp pain went through his jaw as he talked.

"You're definitely not fine, we need to get that examined!" Koji replied, grabbing the boy by the arm. "We're going right now and that's final."

Morty tried to protest but the man refused to humor any of it, firmly grasping Morty's wrist and continuing to lead him away. Eventually Morty stopped arguing and simply followed, as it seemed like this was a fairly normal occasion for him. Soon the two of them were gone and only Whitney and Falkner were left. They nervously looked at each other, their brows raised and eyes wide.

"So…what are we supposed to do now?" Whitney asked hesitantly.

Arc 01: Courtship  
End of Chapter 02: Kiss and Make Up…or Not…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: There! Part 2 of...well the opening setup was only going to be two parts, but now it's seemingly going to be three! Or maybe four. That's the problem when I'm so wordy, I guess, I write so much that I have to break it up more.
> 
> But yeah, for those of you that have read Iridescent Wings, this is a lot of what I was talking about when I mentioned fixing pieces that I didn't like about how I wrote the original story. Whitney and Falkner's apology scene is entirely new. I always meant to portray her as the type of girl that's actually really well intentioned, just nosy, clumsy, and acts before she thinks. But years ago I didn't give her nearly as much time as I should have, because, well, she's not one of the main two boys. But she is essentially the tertiary lead and I felt bad for not expanding on her and Falkner's friendship as much as I should've.
> 
> Also, apparently malintent isn't a word? Huh. I've been using it for years, I don't even remember where I first heard it, probably read it in a book or something. I speak it all the time and nobody ever corrects me, I guess they're just polite. For those of you that don't know, it's sort of a slang combination of "malicious intent".


	3. 3: Bandage Buddies

Halcyon Days Diaries  
Written by Fruit_Punch  
A Pokémon Fanfiction featuring Falkner and Morty  
January 2016 – Present

Arc 01: Courtship  
Chapter 03: Bandage Buddies  
Rating: PG-13  
Warnings: None

"Ow, that hurts!"

"Please stay still, sir"

Falkner winced as he tried to steady his seating on the examination table at the Pokémon Center. A Nurse Joy stood over him, trying to examine the antsy teen's head, which had taken quite a beating over the past afternoon. After Morty had been dragged away by Koji, who was seemingly his handler of sorts, Whitney had suggested that Falkner and her follow Morty, since it was Falkner's fault that Morty was hurt. Falkner had openly and adamantly refused, he had more than enough commotion and buffoonery for the day. The only thing the young boy wanted was to go back home to his quiet Violet City where nobody knew the antics that had conspired, and he could slink away until it all blew over. Morty would be fine, Falkner told Whitney, he hadn't hit the boy that hard. His…handler? Was that what Koji was? Why did a boy like Morty need a caregiver, much less one that followed him around? Why was he so special? Or was something wrong with him? Maybe Falkner could believe that, Morty sure seemed to have a few screws loose. But anyway, his handler was most likely being overly dramatic by taking his ward to seek out medical attention. But Whitney had forcibly taken Falkner to the Pokémon Center anyway, and it seemed she had an ulterior motive for it as well. She had wanted her newfound friend to get examined for head trauma. Despite all of Falkner's insistence that everything was fine, that he had taken harder hits in the past, and how he didn't have time for this, Whitney demanded that he see a doctor. She had demanded this very loudly once they were inside the lobby of the Pokémon Center, and because of that she was intentionally overheard by the medical staff and Falkner was quickly and unwillingly whisked away into an examination room, much to his chagrin and complaint. And it ended up being potentially a good choice too, because according to the nurse there was a chance Falkner had a concussion, in addition to the newly forming bruises that the nurse was currently tending and touching as Falkner protested and whined. Though Falkner didn't see it as a good thing. He would much rather have succeeded in his plan to go home and ignore all of his problems until either they went away or the universe went through entropy and its inevitable heat death, whichever came first. Sure, it wasn't practical or healthy or anything resembling a good idea, but that had never stopped Falkner from running away from his problems before.

Falkner looked over to glance in moderate irritation at Whitney, who had accompanied Falkner into the examination room and was sitting in a chair a few feet away, holding the Pokéball she had returned her Miltank into before entering the Pokémon Center. She simply smiled at him, before going back to fiddling with the red and white orb in her hand. Falkner knew she was trying to help, but he still wasn't too pleased with her butting into his life as much as she had today. Maybe she had been right about going to the hospital, but that didn't mean Falkner had to be grateful about it. He could continue to be as indignant and annoyed as he wanted and absolutely nobody could take that away from him, and no amount of blunt forced head trauma could change that. Falkner opened his mouth to say something to her, but the nurse suddenly put slightly more pressure on one of the points than Falkner would've liked, and instead all that came out was another yelp of pain.

* * *

Eventually the Nurse Joy left, leaving Falkner and Whitney alone in the examination room. Falkner gave her a pout as he grimaced and crossed his arms at the ordeal she had just put him through.

"Thanks." He muttered, intending to be taken sarcastically.

"You're welcome." Whitney beamed at him.

"That was sarcasm."

"I know!" Whitney said, continuing to counter his attitude with an intentionally overly cheery disposition. "You're still welcome, though."

"You know I would've been fine even if we didn't come here" Falkner argued. "It wasn't that bad, and they're not even positive I do have a concussion."

"Well they're also not positive you DON'T have a concussion," Whitney responded, continuing to kill Falkner with kindness. "So you're still welcome."

Falkner rolled his eyes and gave her a tired look. "You're going to keep up that sunny disposition as long as I complain, aren't you?"

"That's the plan, yes!"

Falkner groaned. He was certainly a very stubborn man, and usually he would be willing to be that he could outlast almost anyone in a contest of obstinacy. But he might've met his match in this new acquaintance of his from Goldenrod. She surely was as tenacious as Falkner, if not worse. And what seemed to make her even more powerful was the fact that, at least on the surface, the girl seemed to be much less self-loathing than Falkner, meaning she was much less likely to give up due to feeling inadequate and nihilistic than he was.

"Fine," Falkner sighed. "If I say you were right, will that make you happy?"

"Maybe a little bit," Whitney smiled and nodded.

"And then will you stop being so obnoxiously stubborn?"  
"I will make no such promises, Falkner."

"Ugggghhhh, fine." Falkner whined. God, this Pink Haired Wonder was persistent. Beginning to flip-flop as much as a presidential candidate, Falkner was almost back to debating if it was a good idea after all that he made up with Whitney. She was so tenacious and determined and she could physically overpower Falkner if she put a lot of effort into it. When she was around, Falkner was actually forced to face his problems and proactively do things and he hated it. "Can we at least leave soon?"

"Well Nurse Joy said that she was going to come back in with something in a minute, so after that we can see what she says."

"God, you're like my mom or something" Falkner complained.

Eventually, Falkner was discharged from their care with a temporarily bandaged head. There wasn't any bleeding, but there were several sore spots and bruises, some of which had gauze or cold compresses on. The final diagnosis was that they weren't positive if there were concussions or not, and Falkner was told to take it easy for a few days and come back in a week, or sooner if symptoms persisted or got worse. They had prescribed Falkner with some mild painkillers, which he currently held in his hand as he and Whitney walked into the main lobby of the Pokémon Center.

"See, now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Whitney asked.

"Yes," Falkner answered bitterly. "As a matter of fact it was, actually."

"Oh hush," Whitney said, lightly pushing Falkner on the shoulder. "You're just being fussy now because I made you come here. It wasn't that bad."

Whitney was right, it really wasn't that bad of a doctor's visit. Sure, the poking and prodding hurt a little bit, but that was to be expected. Mainly, Falkner was still just upset that he had been forced to stay around Ecruteak City instead of going home to sulk. But he sure wasn't going to admit that to her. Now it was getting later into the evening, the sun was setting and Falkner had wasted the entire day with all the chaos and drama that had conspired, which was supposed to only be routine meeting lasting an hour or two. Sure, Falkner didn't have any big pressing ironclad plans for the rest of the day, but he still would've rather been home than dealing with everything the day had thrown at him. Beginning to yawn, he was now getting quite tired after the stressful and emotional day.

"Have a good evening," a Nurse Joy called from the counter with a polite waive, stopping Falkner in mid yawn. Making a small gagging noise in surprise, Falkner tried so surpress the yawn and gulp it down, resulting in some pained and awkward expressions. Whitney giggled at his reaction, replying to the nurse since Falkner was currently unable to.

"Thank you!" Whitney replied. "Have a good evening too!"

Walking out the door, she looked over to Falkner. "You're still having an off day, aren't you?" She chuckled.

"Gee, I don't know" Falkner said sardonically. "What was your first clue?"

"Don't worry," Whitney tried to reassure him. "It's almost over."

"PLEASE don't say things like that," Falkner winced. "You'll only make more bad stuff happen when you say that type of thing."

"Well that's sure superstitious and pessimistic." Whitney observed. "Are you always this much fun?"

"It's one of my selling points" Falkner joked.

Whitney giggled as the automatic door behind them closed and they were thrust out into the evening light. The quiet town was softly lit by the faint orange light of the quickly fading sunset, illuminating the town in a soft glow. A few groups of people shuffled through the street, jovially conversing with one another. Overhead there were cries of Pidgey and Pidgeotto as a flock flew through the settling village, coasting on the soft breeze tickling Whitney and Falkner's uncovered arms. In the distance, faint music played from an unknown source and children's laughter was heard. The lines of houses dotting the roads had their warm, inviting lights glowing through the windows, as families finished eating their dinners and prepared to settle down for the night. As a whole the village was a very calming and soothing sight, and Whitney sighed and smiled at the town.

"Ecruteak is so pretty at night," Whitney said contentedly. "Goldenrod is such a big city and the lights and noise are always drowning out the night. But not here. It may be one of the bigger towns in Johto, but Ecruteak City still has such an older and more relaxed feeling to it."

"I guess," Falkner agreed flatly. It wasn't too different from Violet City in some ways. Violet was smaller, yet somewhat more modern looking than Ecruteak. It had plenty of nights that were quiet and somber like this, but it didn't quite manage the rustic aesthetic like this town did, despite the fact that Ecruteak had a population probably almost twice Violet's size. Falkner could agree it was a quaint sight, but it didn't quell his desire to go home.

"I do like the energy and fun in Goldenrod, though." Whitney looked around peacefully. Gazing at her surroundings, suddenly a thought came into her head, causing her to smile mischievously and she turned to gesture towards the Pokémon Center they had just emerged from.

"Hey," she said with a smirk.

"What?"

"Do you really think all the Nurses in there are named Joy?" Whitney grinned, and Falkner groaned in fatigue.

"No. They're not. You know they're not."

"But there's so many of them!" Whitney continued excitedly. "And they all go by the name Nurse Joy. The receptionist, the Nurse who aided to your wounds, and even the one we saw mopping in the dining hall!"

"It's a title." Falkner responded in irritation, lightly rubbing his eyes. "The original Pokémon Center chain in Kanto was run by the same family back when it was founded decades ago, and they chose to be called that. Now it's just a traditional title almost all of the Pokémon Center employees go by. You know all of this."

"They all look similar too," Whitney endured, putting her hands up to gesture to her pigtails. "They have the same hair, and the same outfits, and all of their nametags say Nurse Joy. How do they tell each other apart?"

"It's a uniform." Falkner was getting tired of this. "I guess it's just a very detailed uniform. Don't all of the attendants in Goldenrod's Pokémon Center look like that too?"

"Are you sure they're not all the same family? Or maybe even the same person doing a lot of different jobs?"

"There are over 120 Pokémon Centers in all the different regions that make up our country," Falkner said. "Do you really think that's all the same person?"

"Maybe they're clones!"

"They're not clones."

"Y'know, I think I could make a good Nurse Joy" Whitney said, again going back to gesturing to her hair, making ovals with the movements of her hands to mimic the shape of Nurse Joy's pigtails. "If I grew my hair out, it wouldn't be too far off from theirs."

"Maybe you should," Falkner said, raising an eyebrow. "Since you love taking unwilling patients into the Pokémon Center by force. You'd have to double-check that kidnapping was part of the job description first, though."

"I don't know if I could call myself Nurse Joy though," Whitney pondered in jest. "I like my name. That might be a deal breaker."

"Really?" Falkner laughed. "Well everyone has a line they won't cross, even if it's a…strange one."

"It's not strange!" Whitney raised her voice, speaking though a giggle. "Why can't the nurses go by their own names? It makes no sense!"

"I wouldn't know, I'm not a nurse."

"You could probably work that nurse skirt like a pro though," Whitney laughed, gesturing to Falkner's hips.

"Oh god, what?" Falkner snorted.

"I'd pay money to see that" a voice called out.

Falkner froze. Oh no. That wasn't…please don't let that be.

"Oh hey, Morty" Whitney said.

Fuck, it was Morty. Falkner turned around towards the voice to see Morty sitting on one of the benches outside of the Pokémon Center. They must've passed him on the way out and not noticed. He was leaning in a relaxed position on the bench, his arms resting on the top of the back of the seat, and his legs crossed, the top one bouncing lightly up and down. On his face rested the same smug expression that always seemed to be plastered on his face, but this time it was accompanied by a gauze pad taped to his cheek. Falkner hoped his face hurt like hell.

"Why the hell are you everywhere I go?" Falkner yelled in exasperation.

"I keep telling you, I do live here." Morty shrugged. "And I do believe you were the one who assaulted me and landed me here in the first place?"

"Were you waiting outside here for us?" Falkner asked accusingly, walking up to Morty with firm, solid steps.

"Falkner, please." Whitney said, following behind him worriedly. "It's not worth it."

"How would I have known you were here?" Morty questioned, sighing and moving his head to look up at the quickly darkening sky.

"I have no idea," Falkner responded. "But somehow you keep ending up wherever I go."

"The town isn't that big," Morty answered. "Of course you'll see me around."

"But you're everywhere!"

"Of course, I live here."

"Stop saying that!"

"But it's true."

Whitney simply stood and watched as Falkner bickered at the nonchalant older boy. She was hesitant, afraid that Falkner would snap and attack Morty again. Yet this scuffle seemed much calmer and more contained, so she wasn't sure that an intervention would be necessary. Still, she wished Falkner would calm down. While his anger was understandable, it wasn't helping anything and Whitney would really rather not get involved. If only there was some type of way to force the two to get along. Part of her wondered if locking them in a room or making them wear the same shirt at the same time or something would help, or whether it would only exacerbate things. Sighing in defeat, she decided it would most likely be the latter result. Whitney gazed again at the dispute, it sure didn't seem like it would end anytime soon. Falkner was now waving his hands making irritated gestures, which Morty began to mimic in a condescending manner. Sighing, Whitney looked around the area for something, anything that could possibly bring the argument to a quick and possibly satisfying closure for both parties. But the street was becoming increasingly empty, and none of the landmarks seemed like they'd be of any assistance. In the distance, Whitney thought she saw a familiar older man walking towards them. Was it…yes, it was!

"Oh, Mr. Koji!" Whitney called out, loud enough that she hoped the man could hear her, but also unassumingly enough that Falkner and Morty wouldn't. She quickly looked back and forth between the arriving mediator and the seemingly relatively tame disagreement between the other two gym leaders. After a moment of reluctance, Whitney decided that it would most likely be alright if she redirected her attention away from the boys for a mere moment and she jogged over to the slightly hobbling figure. Sure enough, it was Koji, and the kind and helpful older man recognized her and spoke up.

"Oh, Whitney!" He said cheerily. "What a pleasant surprise. I wasn't sure if you were still around."

"Hi Koji." Whitney said sheepishly. "Yeah, about that…" She gestured at Falkner and Morty, who still were snapping back and forth with no sign of slowing down. "We still haven't managed to leave, yet."

Koji put his hand against his eyebrow and squinted to examine the scene in front of him. The fracas between the boys still seemed to be moderately under control and didn't seem to be escalating, so he deemed it alright to continue talking to the girl in front of him for a moment. Upon further observation of the teenagers, Koji noticed that Falkner had bandages on his head as well.

"Oh my," Koji commented. "Is Falkner doing alright? He seems to have hurt himself as well."

"What?" Whitney paused, before looking over and realizing what the older man was talking about. Did that mean that Koji didn't feel a need in stopping the bickering? Whitney felt like that was strange, considering how quickly he had whisked Morty away for medical attention earlier. But she decided that if Koji really was some type of guardian or caretaker for Morty, he probably was used to the boy's antics and knew best, so she continued talking to the man. "Oh, yeah, that. It's not too bad. I had taken Falkner here as well after all the hits his head had taken today."

"I see," Koji replied, keeping his gaze at least partially on the boys. "And what was the diagnosis?"

"It's uh, it's nothing much." Whitney answered. She was still taken slightly aback by Koji's nonchalant attitude over the dispute. I mean, Falkner had assaulted the gym leader of Ecruteak, and was currently arguing with him yet again. "They aren't sure if it's a concussion or not, but there is some bruising. He's supposed to take it easy for a few days and go for another checkup."

"Well that's good news," Koji smiled. "Where is he going to stay for the time?"  
"What do you mean?"

"Well," Koji continued. "If they need to see him again, and he's supposed to be avoiding too much exertion, he probably shouldn't go too far from the city. He'll just have to come back in a few days, and it's really not safe for him to be flying around when they're not certain of the exact extent of his head trauma."

"Oh." Whitney paused. Koji was probably right, Falkner should stay in the nearby vicinity. Surprisingly, Whitney hadn't thought of that. But she didn't really know what to do with the boy. She didn't have enough money on her for a hotel, and there wasn't anyone she knew in Ecruteak well enough to leave Falkner to. "I'm…I'm not really sure about that…"

"Would you like to stay with us for a few nights?" Koji offered.

"What?" Whitney was taken by surprise by the suggestion. "Oh, no. We couldn't possibly trouble you like that."

"Nonsense!" Koji chuckled. "We have plenty of unused rooms, the estate is always so empty nowadays! Plus you two are fellow gym leaders, and new ones at that! It's my job as one of the facilitators of the Johto Pokémon League to look after you!"

"Well…" Whitney hesitated. Estate? What estate? There was an estate open for their use? Where? Looking around covertly, Whitney couldn't pinpoint any specific lodgings. Was it really alright to use the man's kindness so much? Especially when they had already caused so many issues? And judging by Falkner's attitude, there was no guarantee that there wouldn't become more disputes and problems if they partook in the offer? But what better choice did Whitney have? An estate sounded fancy, it sounded nice, almost like a vacation. And it sure seemed preferable to any other plan.

"Oh, come! I insist!" Koji beamed politely.

"I guess that's a good idea," Whitney said, running her hand through her hair in thought. She really couldn't think of any better ideas herself. Her original plan hadn't involved staying in Ecruteak overnight, but she really didn't feel comfortable leaving Falkner alone with Morty for an extended period of time. She mentally went over her makeshift schedule for the next few days, and decided that she could probably make this work. "Thank you so much, I'm sorry to be a burden."

"Oh not at all!" Koji reassured her. "I'm sure the young master will enjoy the company!"

Young Master? Whitney assumed that Koji was referring to Morty. Nervously, she redirected her line of sight back at Falkner and Morty, somewhat worried as to what she'd find after not having been paying attention to them for a few minutes. But to her relief, Falkner had not resorted to blows, and was currently sitting on the ground pouting, facing away from Morty, who was still resting on the bench, his eyes closed and his head leaned back. While it was better than the two fighting, Whitney was still frustrated at the immaturity of the two boys. Suddenly a realization struck her. She still hadn't apologized for Morty getting hit! If Morty was walking around being called Young Master by special attendants of his, he had to be some type of big deal! As far as Whitney knew, none of the other gym leaders in Johto had a setup similar to that, she knew she sure didn't. Assault in general was obviously a very, very bad thing, but oh god…if they had hurt someone with such high standing they were in serious trouble.

"I'm so sorry about all this" Whitney said quickly, jerkily yet sincerely bowing in immediate apology.

"Oh, no, I told you it's not a problem"

"No," Whitney insisted. "Not just about housing us. I'm so, so sorry about hurting Morty. Please, if there's anything I can do to make up for it, just let me know. I swear I'll get Falkner to apologize, I am so, so sorry."

"Ohoho," Koji laughed. "I assume that the Young Master more than deserved that. You know, sometimes he can get quite spoiled. I'm sure whatever dispute happened, he said or did something that warranted at least a punch."

Whitney looked up at Koji in surprise. So…he wasn't mad? But he had seemed so concerned earlier.

"Are…are you sure?" Whitney said.

"Oh, yes" Koji assured the worried girl. "Once Nurse Joy deemed Morty healthy other than a bruised cheek, I was no longer worried. I'm afraid my disciplining of him can be severely lacking at times. Once in a while, Morty needs a sharp hit to knock him back into reality. He has been on quite an immature streak lately, you see."

"O-Okay…" Whitney answered thankfully, but still confused. "Well thank you so much for your understanding, then."

"Oh, it's nothing." Koji shook his head. "I'm hoping that as you all continue to grow into your roles as gym leaders, you will get to know the Young Master better, and maybe become his friends. I feel like you both would be good influences on him. He needs other people his own age around him."

"About that…" Whitney said, attempting to direct Koji's attention back over to the boys. "What do we do…with them?"

"Oh," Koji chuckled. "I'm sure we can find a way to convince them."

Whitney grimaced as she surveyed the boys in front of her. Maybe Koji was convinced that there was something that they could do to persuade them, but even if Koji had experience and tenure keeping Morty in line, Whitney was no expert on child rearing. She chuckled sadly to herself. She wasn't sure, but Falkner was most likely the same age as her, maybe even a year or two older. And yet he seemed so irrational and immature. If Whitney of all people had to become some sort of authority figure or motherly guide to him, well, that was an outcome Whitney never expected when she woke up this morning. Her own mother was always telling her how she needed to become more mature and stop playing around so much. Whitney had hoped accepting the gym leader job would assist in accomplishing that, but this sure wasn't the way she had expected it to work. Sighing, Whitney rolled up her sleeves before walking over to Falkner, ready to use force again if necessary. Becoming an adult sure was a strange experience, and the ways things worked out rarely seemed to match the plans and goals in her head. But, like always, Whitney was determined to make the best out of the situation and grow from it. Maybe she could even learn some things about tending to the gym while she was in Morty and Koji's care.

Having her mind made up and doubts cleared, Whitney began trotting over towards the boys, followed by Koji. Surely enough, Falkner seemed to sense another development that he most likely wouldn't be too fond of, and tensed as he stood up. Yes, Whitney thought to herself, this was going to be another ordeal. But she would get through it, and damn it she was going to make the best of her opportunity. By the end of this experience she vowed to work towards learning enough to successfully run her gym when it opened next week, and, ideally, she decided that she was going to make friends with both Morty and Falkner one way or another. Koji was right, they all had the ability to be good influences on each other, even if all three of them also had a long ways to go themselves. Whitney knew she could strong-arm her way through this with enough determination, like all the other obstacles in her life. This was just another hurdle, one she would surpass.

She just hoped she could convince Falkner of the same thing.

Arc 01: Courtship  
End of Chapter 03: Bandage Buddies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This doctor's visit chapter was sort of just made up on the spot, I didn't plan on it. I really found the Great Nurse Joy Debate amusing, though. I wouldn't say it's my own headcanon or anything, I just thought it would be a fun topic to bring up.
> 
> I hate writing or reading the word "yawn". It never fails to make me yawn upon reading it. In fact, typing this is making me yawn right now! I don't understand how people can handle it! It's ridiculous!
> 
> Also alternative titles to this chapter could include "The Great Nurse Joy Debate", "Socialized Healthcare Sure is Fun, Kids!" or, more accurately, "That One Chapter Where for Some Reason Whitney Becomes the Main Character".
> 
> As one last parting remark, I recently discovered that Falkner's Japanese voice actor is Akira Ishida and Whitney's is Yuko Miyamura. This story wouldn't exactly make you guess, but I used to be a GIGANTIC Evangelion obsessed fan a few years ago. To those of you that know Evangelion, that means that Falkner has Kaworu Nagisa's voice, and Whitney has Asuka Langley Soryu's. That...sure makes an interesting combination considering how those two characters played out versus what I'm writing now!

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hey, its Fruit Punch here! Years ago, I was on fanfiction.net under the name SharpenedMoonlight and wrote a very well received story called Iridescent Wings. I never finished it. Years later I came back to this story and wanted to rewrite it and continue it.
> 
> To anyone who was a fan of Iridescent Wings, I really hope you like this version too! I know it might seem redundant or boring to rewrite from the ground up, especially when I still have the old story up. (You can read it here s/7032996/1/Iridescent-Wings) But I really wanted to edit the original story rather than simply continue where I left off because I am a very different person than I was years ago, and also I'd like to think I'm moderately better at writing now. It's been so long as well that I had an extremely hard time getting back into that same mindset where I left off. Because of that, and because I'm all about improvement, this story will go in a similar, yet different direction than the old one will, with some completely new concepts and some scrapped ones, as well as things I liked but never was able to fit in the first time around! I really hope you like this story even more than you did Iridescent Wings!
> 
> And if you're a new reader, well, welcome! I'm so glad you took the time to read this!
> 
> Again, thank you for reading! I'm really pleased with this new version. (Though I sometimes wonder if I'm too wordy nowadays...) These first couple chapters are going to be full of edits and changes to the original story, because while I still like Iridescent Wings, I have a lot of minor to not-so-minor issues with certain things I wrote. But that's what happens when you come back to an old friend! You're allowed to prefer either version, but I definitely prefer this newer one. I'm hoping to stick to a fairly regular schedule and update moderately regularly.


End file.
